Chapter 29: Pursuit in the Forest

"Boss, boss!"

At this moment, Gobuge ran over.

It didn't dare come too close, shouting at the boss from about ten meters away.

Li Meng waved his hand to signal to Benben.

Benben put down the large iron hammer and sat on the ground with a thud.

After hammering for a few hours, Benben also felt a bit tired.

Li Meng turned and walked toward Gobuge.

"What’s the matter?"

Gobuge gave a fawning smile and turned to point toward the cave entrance.

"Gobuqiang is outside. It wants to see you, boss!"

Gobuqiang? Why has it come?

A trace of surprise flashed in Li Meng's eyes, and he pondered for a moment.

Without thinking too much, Li Meng walked toward the cave entrance.

Although there had been a fight with the Lizardmen at the edge of the Ghost Spider Forest, it was only a minor conflict and shouldn't have altered the future predicted by Life Simulation.

It was unlikely that Gobuqiang was here for anything significant.

"Boss!"

As soon as he stepped out of the iron cave, Li Meng saw Gobuqiang outside.

When Gobuqiang saw the boss coming out, it quickly stepped forward to meet him.

"Speak, what is it?"

Gobuqiang grinned, a flash of greed appearing in its eyes.

"Boss, recently there's been the scent of Lizardmen lingering in the forest near the tribe. They’ve come looking for us!"

The scent of Lizardmen in the forest near the tribe?

Li Meng frowned slightly, his expression contemplative.

It seemed that the future predicted by Life Simulation had indeed undergone a minor change.

In the predicted future, the Lizardmen shouldn't have appeared in the forest near the tribe at this point in time.

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"Should I use Life Simulation?"

After some thought, Li Meng decided against it.

Although there had been a minor change in the future, the overall situation had not shifted.

The Lizardmen discovering the tribe wouldn’t alter the trajectory of the major events to come.

"Gobuqiang, how are things going with the crossbows?"

Hearing the boss ask about the crossbows, Gobuqiang nodded repeatedly.

"Boss, the crossbows are amazing! Prey we couldn’t catch before can now be hunted with ease. The amount of food brought back by the hunting team is several times what it used to be, and the hunting range is rapidly expanding."

It seemed the Goblin subordinates were putting the crossbows to good use.

Gobuqiang's words made Li Meng feel gratified.

His effort in creating the crossbows had not been in vain.

"Gobuqiang, starting today, your hunting team doesn't need to go out hunting anymore. Your sole task is to eliminate the Lizardmen in the forest between the swamp and the tribe. Do not let them discover our movements."

If the Lizardmen were left unchecked, they might alert others.

Fortunately, the tribe's size wasn’t very large, with only a scattered number of wooden houses.

It wouldn't scare the Lizardmen away, letting the Bai Ling Tribe escape.

The stronghold in the forest was just a breeding ground.

The hunting team usually didn't gather in the tribe.

Even when they returned from hunting, they wouldn’t linger in the tribe.

They would drop off the prey and head out hunting again.

Gobuqiang was overjoyed and eagerly pounded his chest in assurance.

"Boss, leave it to me! I won’t let them get near the tribe!"

Thinking of Lizardmen meat, Gobuqiang's drool nearly began to flow.

"Boss, I’m heading out now!"

Gobuqiang excitedly ran toward the forest.

Li Meng turned and returned to the iron cave.

Gobuqiang, after returning to the tribe, made no stops.

Without delay, it led the hunting team into the western forest.

As the sun set in the west, Gobuqiang faced the first night.

The dense forest blocked the moonlight, plunging the forest into darkness.

But the forest was not silent; there were footsteps and whispers.

And shadows moving through the woods.

"Boss, what are we looking for?"

A Goblin subordinate approached Gobuqiang and asked.

Since entering the forest during the day, the boss had seemed very excited.

"Hehe, don’t you smell the scent of the swamp in this forest?"

"The scent of the swamp?"

The Goblin subordinate sniffed the air.

"There is a bit of it. Boss, what’s going on?"

In the darkness, Gobuqiang grinned.

"With the swamp so far away, how could there be the scent of the swamp here? The Lizardmen are too stupid."

The Goblin subordinate didn’t quite understand what the boss meant.

"You don’t need to think too much. You’re still just a Goblin. Once you evolve into a Big Goblin, you’ll understand."

Is that so?

The Goblin subordinate nodded, half understanding.

"Crossbowmen, string and load your crossbows!"

Gobuqiang let out a strange shout in the dark.

The sharp sound startled a flock of birds into flight.

The Goblins scattered throughout the nearby forest paused at the boss's command.

They quickly bent down, stepping on their stirrup strings, and loaded their crossbows.

The Goblin subordinates, holding crossbows, searched ahead.

Looking into the nearby forest, there were no fewer than a hundred Goblins.

Of these, at least thirty held crossbows.

Meanwhile, whispers arose in the nearby forest.

"Have we been discovered?"

"I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a Goblin hunting party. They love hunting at night."

Behind a large tree, five sturdy shadows could be seen.

At a glance, there were five of them.

The distance between the five was close enough to hear even whispers.

"Ake, what should we do?"

"Hide until they pass!"

"Let’s climb the trees and hide!"

"No, Goblins can see at night. If we’re spotted, we won’t be able to run."

"Hide in the bushes and don’t make a sound!"

The five quickly left their positions behind the tree and each found a dense bush to hide in.

As the five hid, the forest grew quiet.

But soon, the noise of movement swept in from the east.

Shadows moved through the forest, accompanied by the rustling of vegetation.

"They’re close. Don’t leave any bush unchecked!"

The Goblins walking through the forest weren’t idle.

They thrust their spears into the dense bushes.

"Not good!"

Ake noticed the Goblins using their weapons to poke into the bushes and felt uneasy.

These Goblins weren’t out hunting—they had clearly discovered their presence.

They were only searching because they didn’t know where they were hiding.

"Aning, Aba, retreat!"

Ake carefully backed out of the bush, trying to keep his movements as quiet as possible to alert his companions nearby.

"There’s noise over there—it’s the Lizardmen! Shoot them!"

Ake’s low voice was still heard by a Goblin not far away.

A Goblin pointed toward where Ake’s group was and shouted loudly.

Nearby crossbowmen quickly pulled their triggers toward the indicated direction.

"Whoosh!"

Bolts whistled through the air toward the depths of the forest.

"Ah!"

A scream came from the forest.

A Lizardman climbing out of the bush was struck in the back.

The bolt pierced through its body, the tip emerging from its chest.

It staggered and collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

> A Special Thank You!:

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> I want to extend my deepest gratitude to [David Maclachlan], our very first supporter!